Polansky into the quarter-finals at the Gatineau National Bank Challenger

Four Canadians were in second round singles action on Thursday, with an all-Canadian battle kicking-off the day at the Gatineau National Bank Challenger.

In the first match of the day, the tournament’s top seed Peter Polansky (Thornhill, ON) was taking on fellow Canadian Pavel Krainik (Toronto, ON), who received a wild card for the main draw. Polansky is coming into the tournament as the favourite, having reached the final in Gatineau last year. After a relatively quick first set in favor of the top seed, Krainik was not going down without a fight, putting up a tight battle against his compatriot. Despite his efforts, he was unable to gain consistency with his serve, committing five double faults in the match. After a little over an hour of play, it was Polansky who booked his spot in the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 7-5 win.

Looking to join Polansky in the next round was Benjamin Sigouin (Vancouver, BC) who was taking on Ugo Humbert of France, the winner of the Sherbrooke Futures earlier this year. In a close match featuring two young up and coming players, it was Humbert who managed to convert on a greater portion of his break point opportunities, edging out Sigouin by a score of 6-4, 6-4. The Frenchman has now defeated two Canadians in a row, as he eliminated Brayden Schnur (Pickering, ON) in the first round.

Just a few hours after playing his singles match, Polansky was back on the court to dispute his doubles quarter-final. Playing alongside Darian King of Great Britain, the pair secured a spot in the semi-finals thanks to a 4-6, 7-6(4), 10-3 victory. The all-Canadian teams of Ariana Arseneault and Jada Bui, on the women’s side, and Benjamin Sigouin and Alexis Galarneau (Laval, QC) were not as fortunate, falling by a score of 7-5, 6-2 and 7-5, 7-5, respectively.

Playing in the final match of the day, Rebecca Marino (Vancouver, BC) was looking to continue on her winning streak, she who was crowned champion at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger last week. She had the tough task of opposing the tournament’s first seed, Arina Rodionova of Australia. After a tight first few games, the Canadian was eventually broken and dropped the first set. The players traded breaks early in the second, but the Australian took the lead and didn’t look back, taking the match 6-2, 6-4. Marino will have a few days off before playing at the Granby National Bank Challenger next week.

The Gatineau National Bank Challenger is the first of two mixed draw tournaments held in Quebec during the month of July. The tournament will be followed by the Granby National Bank Challenger.